Where it all started

After having dropped Ally off at her aunts early this morning, I continued up the road to the university and set out for a leisurely loop on the chip trails. For me, these trails are where my running career started, where I went for my first “run” with friends, and where I returned for days afterwards in hope of gaining some fitness so that I could keep up with said friends on our next outing (the bastards).

I really can’t emphasize enough the drastic shift from a unimpressive summer to an unwelcome early winter; the last few weeks have been cruel. That said, with a thick fog/light rain blanketing the grounds, the pungent smell from freshly laid bark mulch and a cornucopia of colours the resulting mood was comforting. I loved my run this morning. Although today’s jaunt was a far cry from yesterday’s slugfest, I felt anything but spry and with tomorrow’s race in less than 24 hours I’ve run out of time for anything save some strategic planning.

With Maui’s half marathon result 4’ slower than last year’s race, and a difference of almost 1’ between last year’s Maui and Victoria half marathons, if I was smart, I should try for nothing less than a 1h21 performance tomorrow (3:50 pace/km). That said, and because I have a fragile ego to protect, I’ve decided to throw caution into the recycling bin (along with an abundance of race leaflets) and aim for a sub 1h20 showing… 3:47 km would give me a 1:19:50.

Tune in tomorrow when you’ll hear me say, “I should’ve listened to reason”.

Training:
Friday: a sluggish and heavy legged 33:32 with 5x strides (1’)
Saturday: easy 34:28 with 5x strides (1’)